Cape Town in 5 Days Full Itinerary & Exact Budget

If you only had 5 days in Cape Town, where should you stay? What should you actually do? What should you eat? And how much would it really cost? We spent years going back and forth to this city, so this is genuinely the itinerary that we'd hand a friend flying out for the first time. And we'll track every cost as we go— attractions, transport, food, wine, all the small stuff that adds up— because by the end we're going to give you a real number, not just a guess. We'll estimate a Sea Point Airbnb on top so that you get an honest total for the whole trip. One thing this itinerary won't do is race you from one attraction to the next attraction. After all, you're on holiday, so we've built in proper lunches, slower evenings, and at least one afternoon where the plan is simply do nothing. Right, so let's start with where you should actually stay. Now personally, we would base ourselves in Sea Point for all 5 nights, and we wouldn't move accommodation halfway through the trip because for 5 days I just don't think it's worth wasting time packing, checking out, moving bags, bags and checking in somewhere else. And Sea Point works really well as a base because you've got restaurants, coffee shops, supermarkets, and the promenade right on your doorstep. You can walk to plenty of places locally, and for everything else, Uber or Bolt is really straightforward. It also means that on some of the busier days, you can come back to the apartment and put your feet up for an hour or two and then head out again later. And as I said, you'll notice we deliberately do just that several times in this itinerary. So Let's move on to day 1. Day 1 starts with Cape Town's most obvious and must-see attraction, Table Mountain. But there is one rule that I'd follow before anything else. If you wake up and Table Mountain is clear, then absolutely go. Don't say we'll do it on Thursday, because by Thursday it could be completely covered in cloud. So if the weather is playing ball, we would get an Uber from Sea Point to the lower cableway station first thing in the morning, and we're estimating around about R130 for that Uber. Now for 2 return cableway tickets we're budgeting around R950, and please book this online in advance to save queuing. And talking of which, do this early in the morning before it gets too busy and too hot. Then give yourself a good couple of hours once you are at the top. Walk around, take photos, enjoy the view. Look, it's absolutely stunning up there and well worth doing. And of course have a coffee if you want to. This is your first morning in Cape Town and you don't need to be checking your watch every 5 minutes because you're planning another 3 attractions before lunch. So once we are back down from Table Mountain, we are going to take an Uber into Gardens, and that's going to cost you around about R100. And this is where we're going to stop for lunch. If you want something more casual, The Fat Cactus is a good option. If you want something a little bit nicer, we would choose Kloof Street House. For our budget, we're using Kloof Street House and allowing around R850 Rand for lunch for 2 including a drink. Then after lunch we'd walk to Company Gardens, and this is exactly why I like this first day. You've already done the big attraction, the afternoon's going to be much gentler. Company Gardens is free, you can wander around, look at the historic buildings nearby, sit in the gardens for a while, have a coffee if you fancy one, and just take the pace down. And then around about 4 o'clock we're going to catch an Uber back to Sea Point, and we'd budget around about R100 To do that. And then we're going to do something that seems to be missing from quite a few online itineraries that I see, and that is do absolutely nothing. Go back to your Airbnb, have a shower, put your feet up, have a glass of wine, sit on the balcony and watch the world go by, and do whatever you fancy. I'd give yourself at least a couple of hours here. Then around about 7 o'clock, I'd suggest taking an Uber into Bree Street, and we're budgeting around about R100 each way for the Uber. Have a drink somewhere along the buzzing Bree Street, and then we'd go to Burger and Lobster for dinner. And for dinner and drinks for 2, we're allowing around about R1,100. So running total after day 1 looks like this: Table Mountain, R950, Ubers around about R530, lunch was R850, and dinner and drinks was about R1,100. So the day 1 total is approximately R3,430 for 2 people. That's our R3,430 spent, 4 days still to go, and tomorrow is the biggest sightseeing day of the trip. And it's also going to take a sizable bite out of your budget. We're going to do the Cape Peninsula. For this day, we would absolutely hire a car. You could absolutely book and organize Peninsula tour if you don't want to drive in South Africa, but personally we prefer having our own car. It's pretty easy to drive out there, and if we see somewhere we want to stop, then we stop. If somewhere is packed and not kind of what we expected, then we move on, and if lunch takes longer than expected, then nobody's sitting on a minibus waiting for you. For a compact rental car, insurance allowance, and fuel, we're going to budget around about £1,200. Rand for the day. Now we'd leave Sea Point around about 8 in the morning, drive through Camps Bay, past Llandudno, and then heading towards Chapman's Peak. And allow around 70 rand for the Chapman's Peak toll. And this drive is stunning. It's one of the best views that you're going to see anywhere in the world, so don't skip it. Now our first proper stop is going to be Noordhoek Farm Village, and this is where we're going to stop for coffee. You've got the Food Barn Deli and the Café Roux there. And for 2 coffees and maybe something small to eat, we're allowing around about R220. Then we're going to carry on south towards Cape Point. Now for 2 international visitors, we're budgeting about R1,030 to get into Cape Point. And again, give yourself time here. I'd spend a good couple of hours there, walk around, make sure you head up towards the lighthouse, go down to the Cape of Good Hope sign and get your photos, and actually enjoy the place. Then we're going to head back up towards Simon Town for a late lunch, and for a sit-down lunch we'd probably choose Bertha's. For our budget, we're allowing about 700 rand for lunch for 2. Then we're on to Boulders Beach because yes, you're going to want to see the penguins, and for 2 international visitors we're budgeting 490 rand. Now after Boulders Beach, we've done an awful lot, so we are going to stop, and this is the point where I would resist going to Kalk Bay or Muizenberg or Constantia and another 3 scenic stops just to tick them off your list. And yes, they are absolutely worth visiting, but this is already a full day. So what I'm going to do is head back to Sea Point, chill out for a while, and then that evening we're going to keep it simple. So we're probably going to go to Mojo Market for an easy supper. It's local, it's fun, and it's buzzing. And if you're lucky, there might even be some live music there, and you've got loads of different food choices. And after spending most of the day driving you really don't need another complicated evening, so we're allowing about R500 for dinner for 2. So that's what day 2 looks like: car hire, insurance and fuel around R1,200, Chapman's Peak toll R70, coffee at Noordhoek Farm Village R220, Cape Point around R1,030, lunch in Simon's Town R700, Boulders Beach, R490. Dinner, around about R500. So the day 2 total is approximately R4,210 for 2, and then the running total so far is R7,640. And after 2 fairly busy days, we're about to have the cheapest and most relaxed day on the trip. Although be prepared because I'm going to say something that might annoy a few people. So on to day 3. Day 3. So day 3 is going to start with breakfast at Gerard's in Sea Point, a fun, trendy, and busy cafe with great food. For breakfast and coffee for 2, we're budgeting around about R500. And then we get to the attraction that most people feel they absolutely should visit, but to be quite honest, I'm not so sure, and that is Robben Island. Now before anyone starts typing an angry comment, let me explain. The history of Robben Island is incredibly important. Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison there, And if visiting Robben Island is something that you specifically always wanted to do, then absolutely do it. But I've done the visitor experience and personally I wasn't as impressed by it as I expected to be. I feel, feel that it's a little bit sanitized now and you are kind of a bit herded around like cattle. So if you've only got 5 days and you're unsure whether you want to give a large chunk of one of those days to Robben Island, I'll give you an alternative option. So first of all, option 1. After breakfast at Gerard's, grab an Uber to the V&A Waterfront, then take the ferry to Robben Island from the waterfront, and it takes about 45 minutes. Allow several hours for the ferry crossings and the tour itself, and then come back to the waterfront for late lunch. And if you want somewhere quite nice for lunch, then Baie is an option. Then Uber back to Sea Point, and then spend the late afternoon chilling out and relaxing. And around sunset, make sure that you take a walk along the promenade. It's absolutely stunning, and you're going to see an amazing sunset from there as well. Now, I said I would give you 2 options for this day, so let's look at what we would actually do. So back to breakfast. After breakfast at Gerrard's, we're going to take an Uber into District 6. We're going to visit the District 6 Museum, and we're allowing about R160 for 2 people. Then we're going to head over to Bo-Kaap. We're going to walk around the neighborhood, take some time to understand the history of the area rather than just treating it as somewhere you go just to photograph the colorful houses, and then have lunch at Bismarckia. And we're allowing R500 for lunch for 2 people. Then mid-PM, we're going to head back to Sea Point and chill out before supper. As I said, no attraction, no schedule, just go to the promenade, have a walk, sit by the pools, go shopping if you want, take a nap, whatever you feel like doing. And then in the evening, we're going to go to Zest in Sea Point, one of our favorite restaurants. And we're allowing kind of a minimum of R850 for dinner at Zest for 2 people. So our preferred day 3 option looks like this: breakfast at Gerrard's for R500, local Ubers around R280, District 6 Museum R160, lunch in Bo-Kaap R500, and then dinner at Zest about R850. So the day 3 total is approximately R2,000. R2,290 for 2 people, and that takes our running total to R9,930. And here's where the budget starts getting interesting because 2 of the most expensive days are still ahead of us. So tomorrow we're actually going to head out of Cape Town for the day, and there is one very good reason why we're not going to rent a car. So day 4, we are heading to Franschhoek, and this is the only full day where we absolutely would not consider driving ourselves because Wine. Okay, someone has to say it. We book a return transfer from Sea Point to Franschhoek, and for 2 people we're allowing about R1,400 for that return journey. We're going to leave Sea Point around about 9 in the morning, and then we're going to arrive in Franschhoek sort of around about 10, 10:30. We're going to have a coffee and a little wander around a very quaint town, and we're allowing R180 for that. And then we're going to use the wine tram, and for 2 people we're budgeting around about R700. Wine tastings of course are extra, but this is where people can get a little carried away. Just because the tram allows you to keep getting on and off doesn't mean that you should visit all 6 wine estates. In fact, what we would do is choose 2 of them and just stick to those 2 and do 2 tastings and have a long lunch. And for the tastings we're allowing around about R600 in total for 2 of us. For lunch, our mid-price choice would be back in Franschhoek in Rubens, or eat at one of the wineries, and we're budgeting around about R950 for lunch for 2. And then we're going to start having a leisurely trek back towards Cape Town around about 4:30, and you should be back in Sea Point about 6. And after an entire day of wine and food, I would absolutely not book a fancy restaurant on the other side of Cape Town but rather stay local. And our first choice for this evening would be an Italian, which is Posticino. But if you fancy a Greek, then go to Mykonos Taverna, another Sea Point option. Both fantastic food and really cost-effective. And for the budget, I'm going to use Posticino and allow around about R700 for dinner for 2. So day 4 looks like this: return transfer to Franschhoek, about R1,400. Coffee's R180, the wine tram R700, wine tasting R600, lunch at Rubens R950, and then dinner at Posticino R700. And add a small local transport allowance of around about R80. So day 4 total is R4,610 for 2 people, and that pushes up our running total to R14,540. Okay, one day left. And day 5 has breakfast with a view, one of Cape Town's best-known gardens, a substantial wine estate, and then we're going to end the trip in style at your final dinner of the trip. So day 5 is going to start a little bit differently. No early rush, and we're going to start with breakfast at Hugo Social in Sea Point. And this is one of those places that we almost don't want to tell people about. It's up on the top floor with Fantastic views across the ocean, across Sea Point, and whenever we've been there for breakfast it always has been surprisingly quiet. So for breakfast and coffees for 2 we're allowing about R500. Then what we're going to do is we're going to take an Uber from Sea Point to Kirstenbosch. For day 5 we definitely use an Uber rather than hiring another car because you've simply got point-to-point journeys and you don't need to worry about parking and traffic and all the rest of it. And if you have wine with lunch then obviously nobody has to worry about driving. For the Uber from Sea Point to Kirstenbosch we're allowing about R220 post-rush hour. Then we're going to spend a couple of hours wandering around Kirstenbosch Gardens, walk around the gardens, do the canopy walkway, have a coffee if you want. And for Kirstenbosch admission we built in R550 for 2 into our working budget. Then we're going to take another Uber from Kirstenbosch over to Constantia And that's going to be about R130 for the journey. For lunch, we're going to head to Groot Constantia and eat at Jonkers House. I think I'm saying that correctly. It gives you a wine estate setting without having to turn day 5 into another full Winelands day. For lunch for 2, we're allowing about R850. And of course, if you want to do some wine tasting while you're there, then add another R300 for the 2 of you. Then about half past 3, take an Uber back to Sea Point, about R240. And again, the late afternoon is free, so you're going to want to pack, you want to have your final walk on the promenade, grab a cocktail, buy anything you want to take home, or simply put your feet up and chill out. Then for our final dinner, we're going to go to Luma in Sea Point. It feels special enough for the last night, but you're still staying close to home. It's all going to be within walking distance. So for dinner and drinks for 2, we're budgeting around about R1,150. So day 5 comes in at roughly R400 for 2 people, which brings us to the numbers that you've probably been waiting for. So let's add up the whole trip. So day 1 is R3,430, day 2 R4,010, day 3 R2,290, day 4 is R4,610, and then day 5 is roughly R4,000. So our planned on-the-ground spending for the budget for 2 people comes out at R18,500. For the exchange rate that we're using for this video, that's approximately £842 for 2 people. Now listen, before someone pauses this video, gets their calculator out, and tells us that we are a few pounds or rand out with these planning figures, obviously exchange rates move, Uber prices vary, restaurant bills depend on what you order and prices go up, and I'm fairly certain that your wine consumption may not be exactly the same as ours because we're not huge drinkers. But £842 is the number that we would put aside for 2 people who are following this itinerary, and that covers quite a bit: your major attractions, your local transport, the rental car and fuel for the peninsula, your transport to Franschhoek, the wine trams, wine tastings, breakfast, lunch, dinners, and drinks. But there is still one cost missing, and that is accommodation. So the lower end For a decent apartment we'd be allowing about 7,500 to 10,000 rand for 5 nights. That's about £340 to £455. So taking— take our £842 spending budget and then you need to add the Airbnb as well, and that puts the total around about £1,180 to £1,300 for 2 people. If you prefer something a little nicer, perhaps more modern with a balcony or great sea views, then we're budgeting around about 11,500 to 15,000 rand for 5 nights. That's roughly £520 to £680, and add that to our £842 spending budget and your total becomes around about £1,360 to £1,520 for 2 people. So for 2 people excluding your flights, I think a realistic budget that you should budget for for this 5-day itinerary is around about £1,200 to £1,500. That's the number that I would keep in mind, and importantly, this is not Cape Town done cheaply, as humanly possible. You're eating out every day, you're doing the major attractions, you're hiring a car to go to the peninsula, spending the day in Franschhoek wine tasting, nice— some nicer meals, and you've still got enough downtime to actually feel like you're on holiday. Could you spend less? Well, absolutely. Could you spend considerably more? Very, very easily. But that's a sort of 5-day trip that we would generally recommend to our friends. £1,200 to £1,500 for 2 people excluding flights feels like the useful correct number. So would we add anything else? Well, absolutely not, and that might be the most important part of this itinerary. Cape Town has enough to fill 2 weeks very easily, let alone 5 days. So if you've only got 5 days, the answer isn't to keep adding more to try and cram everything in. It's to choose the experiences that you actually want and give yourself enough time to enjoy them. So we've got Table Mountain, the Cape Peninsula, some Cape Town history, a day at Franschhoek, Kirstenbosch, and Constantia, and plenty of time to just soak in the sights and the culture in Sea Point in between. If we did have a 6th day, then yes, we probably would start adding places like Cold Bay, Muizenberg, Camps Bay, Hout Bay, or another museum. But for 5 days, this is generally the itinerary that we would hand to friends. And now I'd love to know what you think. If you know Cape Town well, what would you change? Did I miss something? What would you take something out? And what is the one thing that you think We should absolutely have included that maybe we didn't, and I suspect that there may be some strong opinions about Robben Island as well. So do let us know in the comments, and if you're planning your first Cape Town trip, hopefully we've just saved you a lot of Googling. Now I've put this whole itinerary into a handy guide that you can download for free from our website jamesandrob.com, and I've also put the link into the video description. Description as well. So go grab that guide, and thank you so much for watching. And of course, we will see you in the next one.